Deposits Earth Science Archive
An acclaimed international collection of articles and book reviews on fossils, geology, minerals, palaeontology and earth science
Dr David Penney and Dr David Green (UK) It is almost two decades since the original blockbuster movie, Jurassic Park, brought the existence of fossil insects in amber (fossilised tree resin) into the limelight. Since then, numerous books and research papers have been published. Fossiliferous amber deposits are still being … Read More
Dr Steven C Sweetman (UK) Most palaeontologists now accept that birds are descended from non-avian dinosaurs and are therefore the only living representatives of otherwise terrestrial animals that ruled the world during the Mesozoic. That being the case, the Cuban bee hummingbird, which measures just 5cm in length and weighs … Read More
Brian Day (UK) I first got interested in Fossils by accident… I was an engineer by profession and worked lots of hours travelling to Germany etc. So I took my family on holiday at every opportunity. My family comprised my Wife, Son and Daughter. I enjoyed an early morning walk … Read More
The Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary interval is represented in Lincolnshire by the Spilsby Sandstone Formation, a shallow water marine deposit that spans the Volgian stage of the Jurassic to the Berriasian stage of the Cretaceous (Hopson et al. 2008). The ammonite faunas of this formation are of particular interest, exhibiting affinities with correlative forms in both Russia on the Siberian plain, as well as Greenland and Canada (for example, Casey, 1973; Mikhail Rogov, personal communication 2015).
John P Green (UK) As many amateur and professional palaeontologists are aware, ichthyosaurs are well-known aquatic reptiles from the Mesozoic era, which are especially common in Jurassic marine deposits in the UK. They are particularly conspicuous in the Charmouth and Whitby Mudstone Formations of the Lias (Lower Jurassic), as well … Read More
Ryan Clayton (UK) I have always been curious about footprints and trackways made by prehistoric animals, especially dinosaurs, due to the concept that the ground has captured the process of an animal, which is now long dead and their species extinct. I find it even more exciting when the creature … Read More
Martin I Simpson (UK) The details of how the nineteenth century Sussex surgeon and palaeontologist Gideon Mantell came to acquire, describe and announce to the world a new fossil herbivorous reptile, later to be christened Iguanodon and to be included in Owen’s Dinosauria, have been merged together to form one … Read More
Dr Neale Monks (UK) The crustaceans are the second biggest group of arthropods after the insects and have a good fossil record, but, for one reason or another, they are not as familiar to fossil collectors as the trilobites. It may be because they’re a bit harder to identify, with … Read More
There are a lot of guide books to the Jurassic Coast Work Heritage Site. This one is intended to provide a useful introduction to the general geology of the coastline, dealing with its formation, fossils and plate tectonics (among many other things), but specifically in the context of walks – for both afternoon rambles and long distance hikes for the more committed.
I wouldn’t say I know Paul Taylor, but I did once go on a fieldtrip with him, organised by the Natural History Museum (NHM) in London, more years ago than I care to remember. It was to the Coralline Crag of Suffolk, which was chock full of bryozoans – Paul’s favourite niche fossil. And very interesting it was too – as was Paul. Therefore, I am not surprised how fascinating this book turns out to be.
I remember buying the first edition of Ken Brook’s fascinating little guide on Hastings a long time ago, and bumbling off to Hastings in the hope of finding Lower Cretaceous dinosaurs and tree ferns. Sadly, I was disappointed, as the area is not as productive as, say, the Dorset or North Yorkshire coastlines. Having said that, I have been back a few times armed with that first edition and have enjoyed the visits every time.
It won’t come as any surprise to a reader of this magazine, but might to the vast majority of the UK population (and probably anyone reading this elsewhere), but this country is a great place to find dinosaurs.
Growing up, I collected and purchased trilobite fossils for my own personal collection, to learn about and understand prehistoric life. They were to me, and still are, a fascinating group of fossils to examine and wonder about how the myriad of different forms evolved.
Patagonia has not always been the cold, arid and dry place it is today. About 17mya – because the Andes were much lower allowing humid winds from the west to reach the area – it consisted of substantial forests and grasslands. It was also inhabited by strange and wonderful animals, many of which are now extinct, such as glyptodonts, huge snakes and the giant, tapir-like astrapotheres.
As the author says, “The abundance and diversity of Foraminifera … make them uniquely useful in studies of modern marine environments and the ancient rock record”. And this book represents an interesting, enjoyable and informative ‘one-stop-shop’ treatment of precisely that subject.
This fascinating book looks at the professional interaction over more than 30 years between a respected husband and wife team of US palaeontologists working for most of their professional lives in Australia (Prof Pat Vickers-Rich and Tom Rich) and a freelance artist (Peter Trusler), as he tries to interpret their work and bring to life ancient organisms and environments.
These three guides by Robert Westwood are in the same simple format. All are local geological guides to specific areas of the UK and all are illustrated by lovely full colour photographs. They all contain simple, introductory geological introductions for the uninitiated, and then more detailed expositions of what makes the regions so special.
In recent years, the Jurassic Coast Trust really has produced some great books and I have had the privilege of reviewing quite a number of them in this magazine. These two companion books are intended as walking guides to the World Heritage Site.
Recently, in the autumn of 2011, a beautiful and richly illustrated book was published by a group of sabre-tooth experts. This new book describes, in detail, the osteology of Xenosmilus and all skeletal elements are depicted in great detail.
Like the book, Applications of Palaeontology: Techniques and Case Studies, which I reviewed in the last issue of this magazine, this book is not for the casual fossil collector. Rather it is for the student, academic, oil industry professional or the more dedicated amateur collector.
I suspect that most people who read this magazine do so because of their amateur love of fossils and geology. They are interested in geology and palaeontology on a curious rather than academic or professional level.
Whether you are an amateur collector, geology student or professional geologist, the Dorset coast will always hold a special place in most geologists’ hearts. The coastline, which forms part of the ‘Jurassic Coast’ World Heritage Site, has been the stamping ground for the historical great and the good, through to the holidaymakers of today collecting fossils for fun.
Nowadays, people don’t do geology – they do ‘earth sciences’ – and this book is very much in that mould. That’s not to say this is a problem.
Here at Deposits, we like our amber and this certainly isn’t the first book on the subject I have reviewed. In fact, over the years, we have published many articles on the fossilised sap and its inclusions, and have just finished publishing a short, two-article series by the authors of this excellent little publication.
I like the GA guides. They are excellent resources for amateurs and professional geologists alike and I frequently browse mine, planning geological trips I will probably never take, because I live in geological unexciting London.
John L Morton certainly came to popular geological publishing by an interesting and circuitous route. Trained as a pilot, he flew Herons, Viscounts, Comets, Boeing 707s and Lockheed TriStars for British European Airways and subsequently published a book on aspects of flying for an airline.
This is the second guide to be published in a series of three books produced by Dunedin (the first of which, Introducing Geology – A Guide to the World of Rocks by Graham Park was reviewed in Issue 23 of Deposits) and this second book does not disappoint at all.
Roderick Impey Murchison must have been a remarkable man. He was one of the first people to rigorously use the principles of stratigraphy discovered by William Smith, which allowed him to erect the Silurian system and to name about 123myrs of geological time.
It is always exciting when Palass publishes a new field guide to fossils. This one, number 12 in the series, is likely to be the constant companion for anyone, who (like me) loves the Gault Clay.
I am a local geology enthusiast and have been leading fossil hunts at Bracklesham for over 30 years. I recently decided that it was time to write a new guide (published April 2009) aimed at visitors who, more often than not, will be faced with a uniform blanket of beach sand and need some idea of where to start.
